A clash of dreams in PKR’s game of thrones

By admin-s On Apr 12, 2014

Considering the almost spiritual hold that Anwar has on PKR, whichever of the three dreams captures the minds of PKR members and takes control, it is still the dream of the de facto leader that will ultimately guide the party.

Haslan Zakaria, The Ant Daily

If the 2010 polls were the acid test of PKR’s one-member-one-vote system, the party elections next month will be a clash of dreams, the battle royal that will shape the party’s future.

For the votes will not only determine who shall sit on the throne but also decide what philosophy will rule it.

Indeed, it will redefine PKR from its justice-seeking personality cult beginnings which mirror yet its feudalistic parentage to something more, something similar, or perhaps something even less.

What is at stake here is more than just posts and positions but the future of things to come for the still youthful party, yet looking for a direction to swim in.

Indeed compared to PKR, other members of the Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact are not only more cohesive but also more senior.

And, like the mixed potpourri that is the party’s origins, the dreams involved are many and varied.

But those to clash come the PKR polls are the feudal dreams of kingmakers seeking just rewards for patient loyalty, the dreams of fresh politicians seeking exemption from old politics, and the righteous dreams of those seeking a principled stand.

The first is the feudal dreams of kingmaker and incumbent deputy president Azmin Ali, a longtime Anwar loyalist who has been working hard behind the scenes and also building up the party’s second line leadership in his image.

After all, he himself was from such a grooming programme.

While loyal, he has many times demanded that he be allowed to reap what he has sown, to savour the sweet rewards of his unflinching service.

But his background in government service and party administration harks back to Umno’s feudalistic origins, and the way he structures his network in the party re-creates this.

As such, for a party that brands itself the reform party, his old-style methods seem a tad off colour.